


Imperfect Recall

by FoxGlade



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Gen, Mystery Trio, itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny you-probably-won't-even-notice-it implied romance, stan PUNCHED a pterodactyl to death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-31
Updated: 2015-03-31
Packaged: 2018-03-20 06:03:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3639465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxGlade/pseuds/FoxGlade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a slightly different way Land Before Swine could have gone down, if McGucket's memory wipes had been slightly less effective</p>
            </blockquote>





	Imperfect Recall

**Author's Note:**

> in an attempt to avoid working on an assignment that was due ten hours later, i went into the mystery trio tag. and then i went into the fiddlestan tag. and then i went into the trash where i belong, bcause i am now fiddlestan trash. a couple of ppl have written some rly good post-Society of the Blind Eye fics, but i wanted to try my hand at something a little earlier on
> 
> the working title of this piece was "DONT YOU SEE DIPPER ITS A TRAGIC OLD MAN ROMANCE", and yes there is a reference to [this comic](http://notllorstel.tumblr.com/post/114161870811/grapes), mostly bcause i'm still laughing about it
> 
> i have no one to blame but myself, but will blame shena anyway, bcause they were the one that got me into this stUPID DUMB TERRIBLE SHOW

Dipper wasn’t normally one to take note of social cues – that was generally Mabel’s area, when she wasn’t being purposefully oblivious. But even he could tell that Grunkle Stan had been acting weird since Old Man McGucket had shown up. He seemed shifty, like whenever he or Mabel asked him about his past, or when someone mentioned the FBI.

As Dipper followed the red yarn trailing on the ground, he thought on Stan’s responses to McGucket, and how terse and uncomfortable they all sounded. He didn’t think he’d ever seen them interact before… But it could be nothing. After all, most of the town viewed McGucket as an annoyance. Was it really surprising that Stan would be the same? But then again, he seemed more uncomfortable than annoyed… Dipper shrugged and raised the lantern slightly. It was probably nothing.

And then he saw the dinosaur in the tree sap.

They all yelled in shock and fright. Dipper held the lantern up higher to examine the dinosaur, but was briefly distracted by movement on his right. He glanced over to see McGucket clinging to Stan’s back, staring at the dinosaur blankly. But more surprising was Stan, who was staring as well, apparently not caring about the man clinging to his back – no, Dipper realised, more than that, he was even holding onto McGucket’s ankles to keep him there. A moment later Stan shifted his gaze and noticed Dipper’s look of surprise, then scowled and shook McGucket off his back with a mutter.

It was strange, but not strange enough to distract from the mystery right in front of him, so Dipper went back to examining the creatures trapped in sap all around him, moving deeper into the cave as he did so.

The next few minutes were filled Mabel drama and his own anger at Soos, making him forget briefly about even the dinosaurs, but the sound of McGucket’s cheerful cry silenced them all.

“I fixed your lantern!” he said, oblivious to the giant pterodactyl behind him. They all yelled, including McGucket.

“What are we doing?” he asked, still oblivious, and before any of them could respond, Stan threw out a hand.

“Fiddleford!” he barked, ignoring Dipper and Mabel’s surprised reactions. “Get over here, now!”

McGucket didn’t seem surprised at being called the name; just shrugged and walked towards them. Dipper’s head spun with a sudden influx of questions brought on by this new information. Stan knew McGucket? Well enough to call him by his apparent first name, something he’d never heard anyone in town say? Then why had he never seen them interact before now?

Stan roughly grabbed McGucket by the shoulder and held him in place. “Everybody just stay still,” he said. The pterodactyl tilted its head, watching them closely. Suddenly the air was pierced by a wild hoot.

“We done caught a pterodactyl!” McGucket yelled, shaking Stan’s hand off and jumping up and down. The pterodactyl screeched in response, and they all set off running down the tunnel, the heavy footsteps of the creature thumping after them.

Over the din, Dipper could have sworn he heard Stan yell, “Good job, you crazy nerd!” But he dismissed it in favour of concentrating on running for his life. They emerged from the tunnel and dove behind a pile of conveniently placed rocks, Stan grabbing McGucket by the shoulder and hauling him down with them. They all crouched, silent, as the pterodactyl fought its way through the tunnel, peered around, then flew off with another unholy screech.

Dipper waited until he was sure it was gone, then rounded on Stan. “You know Old Man McGucket?” he said, not sure why his tone was so accusatory. It wasn’t like there was anything particularly suspicious about them knowing each other, but something about it seemed off to him. Stan frowned down at him.

“Everyone knows everyone in this town,” he said bluntly.

“But–”

“Now ain’t the time, kid,” he interrupted. “Let’s just find a way out of here. I say we get Mabel to knit Soos a pig costume, then use him as a human sacrifice!”

“I like it!” Soos said happily. Dipper frowned as Mabel refused to talk to Stan, and then Soos started arguing with him, only to be interrupted by the familiar squealing of a pig. The next minute was a blur of action; running after Mabel, backing away from the skeletons in the nest, ducking instinctively as the shadow of the pterodactyl passed over them, until…

“Get off me, ya dumb pig!” Stan grunted, flat on his back on the railroad bridge. The pterodactyl screeched, and then a second later the bridge was rolling, and Stan fell from it with a shout.

“Oh no!”

“Stan!”

“Mr. Pines!”

“Stanford!” Dipper swung his head towards the source of that last shout and saw McGucket, clutching the edge of the nest and looking down into the valley with the same horror the rest of them felt. All four of them collapsed and huddled against the side of the nest, silent. Dipper’s mind, however, was ricocheting wildly. Stan was gone. McGucket had referred to Stan by his first name, his full first name. Stan couldn’t be gone – he was their Grunkle Stan, indestructible. So he and McGucket _did_ know each other. Was that so noteworthy, so suspicious? Did it even matter now that Stan was–?

The shadow passed overhead again, this time dropping Stan’s fez in front of them. Dipper gasped, and heard the others do the same. Surely this meant that Stan was still alive down there, still fighting enough to only have his hat carried off? Mabel lunged forward to grab it, and one look at her confirmed that she’d had the same thought.

“We’ve gotta save them!” she cried. Dipper thought quickly, then turned to McGucket, who was staring blankly at his own feet.

“McGucket!” he said. The old man looked up. “Do you have an invention that could distract the pterodactyl?”

He stared at Dipper for a moment, then took off his hat and rummaged through it for a moment, uncharacteristically silent. “Nope,” he said, in an almost calm voice.

A loud crack from the other side of the nest, making them all jump and turn to look. The enormous egg was splintering, fault lines running along its shell until the top split open, a baby pterodactyl head popping through.

“Awww,” Mabel cooed. Even McGucket cracked a smile.

“Well,” he said, stepping closer, “welcome to the world, little–” The pterodactyl’s head reached forward, jaws opening suddenly, and the other three in the next screamed, sure that they were about to watch a man get eaten alive by a dinosaur.

But McGucket stepped back with lightning quick reflexes and then, just as quickly, delivered a right hook to the creature’s jaw, then a left to its nose, before it screeched unhappily and backed away to the far side of the nest. Dipper, Mabel and Soos gaped in shock as McGucket let out a celebratory hoot and turned around to grin at them.

“It’s been a mighty long time since I did that!” he said happily. “Now what say we ditch this hootenanny and get the heck away from this here creature?”

Dipper shook away his surprise and said, “How? I don’t think it’ll stay scared for long.” Even now, the pterodactyl was tilting its head at them, making chirping noises and rustling its wings as if it would move towards them at any second.

And then Soos shifted next to him, sitting up straighter, and said with determination, “We have to get in a straight line.”

Despite Dipper’s misgivings, Soos’ plan worked, and all four of them reached the safety of the rocks by the tunnel before collapsing with sighs of relief. Dipper opened his mouth to congratulate Soos on his success, or apologise for doubting him, he wasn’t sure which to say first, but snapped it shut again at the sound of a pterodactyl screech. They all looked up to the roof of the cavern to see the adult pterodactyl flying crazily around, with something clinging to its back and flailing. Dipper squinted.

“Is that..?” he began. The pterodactyl wheeled and flew straight for a moment, giving them a clear view of…

“Stan!” Mabel cried. Sure enough, their Grunkle was straddling the creature’s neck, punching it over and over again, in a manner almost identical to the way McGucket had punched the younger pterodactyl. Overjoyed to see the man as he was, part of Dipper couldn’t help but add that to his mental list of evidence for a theory he hadn’t defined yet.

“And he has Waddles!” Mabel added, eyes sparkling. Dipper grinned.

“Go Stan!” he shouted, and heard McGucket give a wild hoot beside him.

“Give ‘em the ol’ two-hander, Stanford!” he hollered. Above them, Stan yelled something indecipherable, raised both fists, and smashed them against the back of the pterodactyl’s head. The creature screeched yet again, eyes rolling madly, then plummeted towards them. Before they could even step back, it crashed against the ledge, and then there was only Stan, pulling himself up over the edge and standing triumphantly.

“Stan!” Dipper shouted, and they all ran over to him, shouting their relief and happiness. Mabel, however, remained silent until Stan lifted Waddles out of the carry-sack and handed him over, taking his fez back in return.

“You saved him for me,” she said softly, with a smile. Stan shrugged, but Dipper could tell he was pleased at her finally talking to him again.

“Yeah, well,” he grunted. “Sometimes you just gotta–” He broke off as a large talon rose over the ledge, followed by the head of the adult pterodactyl. “LOOK OUT!”

They ran, yelling, through the tunnels they’d come through, the pterodactyl hot on their heels, until they skidded to a halt inside the cavern they’d fell into in the first place. Dipper stared into the light from the broken floorboards high above them, thoughts racing.

“We’re trapped!” Stan yelled, just as a large rock was jettisoned upwards by one of the geysers around them. Dipper quickly glanced between the pools around them, the light above, and the stream of water now falling back into the geyser, and made a decision.

“The geyser can shoot us back up!” he said, pointing frantically. “Quick, everyone in!”

They splashed into water, Soos stumbling slightly behind Mabel as she grabbed onto Dipper, keeping one arm tight around Waddles as she did so. Stan had a hand on McGucket’s upper arm, Dipper noted distractedly as he stared at the water. “C’mon, go, go!” he muttered, running a hand through the water helplessly. A rapid movement made him jerk his head up and he stared in horror as the pterodactyl soared down the tunnel, heading straight for them.

“Bros before dinos!” Soos yelled over Dipper and Mabel’s screams, before slamming his fists into the sides of the geyser. A moment later they were shooting upwards on a pillar of water, leaving the pterodactyl below.

“Brace yourselves!” Dipper heard Stan shout. He closed his eyes and covered his face a second before they burst through the roof of the old church, hovering in midair for briefly before the water receded, sending them all plummeting, screaming, down again.

Dipper must have passed out for at least a few seconds, because the next thing he knew, Soos was pushing him upright inside some sort of tall wooden box – a wardrobe? A piano, he corrected himself, wincing as the wires dug into his legs. A quick glance up told him that not only was he extremely lucky to be relatively uninjured, but also that Mabel seemed alright as well, despite being stuck in a chandelier.

There was the sound of heavy panting from across the room, and Dipper looked over to see Stan sprawled out in a splintered coffin, McGucket collapsed on top of him with a blank expression.

“Grunkle Stan, are you okay?” Mabel called out from her perch near the ceiling. “You have an Old Man McGucket on your chest.”

“Hmm? Yeah, fine, kid,” Stan grunted. He sat up and pushed McGucket off, making him roll out of the coffin and onto the ground. Brushing himself off, he muttered something, then said in a louder voice, “It’s like holding a couple of grapes.”

“Well, I ain’t no boxer, moron,” McGucket said cheerfully. Dipper rolled his eyes at the non-sequitur and started to follow Soos in climbing out of the piano, only to stop at the sound of feet hitting the ground and both Mabel and Soos yelling out Stan’s name.

Their Grunkle was looming over McGucket, gripping his shoulders tightly and scowling. “What’d you just say?” he barked, shaking McGucket slightly. “Repeat what you just said!”

“Grunkle Stan, he probably didn’t mean it!” Mabel said with a worried look.

“Yeah, he’s just a crazy old man,” Dipper added. Stan was a bit rough around the edges and prone to violence, but threatening a clearly unstable guy? One that he apparently knew well enough to call by his first name when no one else in town did?

“I-I- Did I say somethin’?” McGucket said nervously. His eyes were darting around the room without focusing on anything in particular. “I don’t recall.”

At his words, Stan’s shoulders slumped, and he dropped his hands from McGucket’s shoulders. Instantly the man scurried out of the church with a loud hoot, and disappeared into the surrounding forest. Stan didn’t watch go – just rubbed his face with one hand, then looked up to where Mabel was leaning over the edge of the chandelier. “C’mon, let’s get you down,” he said, walking over and holding up his hands.

“Wait, what was that?” Dipper asked as Mabel carefully jumped into Stan’s waiting arms. “Grunkle Stan, what–?”

“Just old business, kid, nothing you need to worry about,” Stan said bluntly. He put Mabel down and she instantly went back to cuddling Waddles. “Yeesh, that pig weighs more than you, sweetie. What d’you feed that thing anyway?”

“Waffles, tomatoes, raw sugar packets,” Mabel listed happily. “Y’know, normal pig things.”

“The diet of a true king,” Soos said sagely.

Dipper followed as the two walked to the front door and the church, Mabel telling Soos all the details of the feast she was going to prepare for Waddles when they got home, but was stopped just before the door. He looked up and saw Stan staring him down with a mulish expression.

“I meant it when I said it’s nothing you need to know about,” he warned. “I know you got some complex about mysteries, kid, but trust me, there’s nothing mysterious about it. Just two people who used to know each other and now we don’t.”

“But he,” Dipper began to protest, only to be cut off by a pointing finger.

“Seriously, leave it alone,” Stan said. He pinched the bridge of his large nose and for a second looked much, much older than normal. “If I find out you’re digging stuff up about this, then you’re grounded for the rest of the summer, capiche?”

Dipper nodded with a frown, but stayed where he was when Stan walked through the door. A second later he heard Mabel say something and Stan reply, with none of the bitterness or exhaustion that had been in his conversation with Dipper.

If he hadn’t found the whole thing suspicious before, then he definitely did now. He was still pondering over it when he climbed into the front seat of Soos’s car, although he was quickly distracted by the mess that was his vest, and then his apology to Soos. Still, as they settled back into silence after a fist bump, he couldn’t help but look at Stan in the review mirror, sleeping with his head leaning against Mabel and Waddles.

Stan hid a lot of things about himself, Dipper knew. Maybe this was just one more thing that he’d rather leave behind.

 

* * *

 

It was long after the twins had gone to bed when Stan punched in the code for the vending machine, glancing around warily before pulling the door open and stepping into the passage behind it. He hadn’t been down here since the kids had first arrived, and before that it’d been even longer, but he still knew every passcode and creaky floorboard by heart.

The portal was dark and silent as it had been for thirty years. Stan stepped out of the elevator and took a moment to stare at it, before sighing heavily and moving to his desk. He had to open a few drawers before finding what he was looking for, but finally he closed a hand over the old photo frame with the cracked glass and held it up to the lantern light.

It was taken only a month or so before they completed the portal, and he realised that even though he could remember the exact temperature of the day it was taken, he couldn’t even remember who’d taken it – maybe Gina? It didn’t really matter, but it bugged him.

“Gettin’ forgetful in my old age,” he huffed, shaking his head at the irony of the statement as he stared down at Fiddleford’s face. The only lines on his face were from laughter, and he could still remember the squeaky sound of it when he’d pulled Fiddleford against his chest and thrown an arm around Stanley’s shoulder, grinning for the person behind the camera. Stanley was rolling his eyes behind his glasses, and Stan glanced over at the dusty pair that was now resting on his desk. They were the same; he’d replaced them only a few days before the portal opened, leaving the old pair in his room.

“I messed up, ‘Lee,” he said, looking up at the darkened portal. “I lost him because I was an idiot, and I accepted it. But I’m close to getting this thing working, and when you get back...” He closed a hand over the old glasses, rubbing a thumb over the lenses. “When you get back, everything will be different. I promise.”


End file.
